Sean Strickland got back on track Saturday when he defeated Nassourdine Imavov on short notice in the UFC Fight Night 217 main event.
Strickland (25-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) stepped in to the first octagon headliner of the year as a replacement for Kelvin Gastelum just five days’ out from the event. It proved to be a good choice, because he snapped a two-fight losing skid with unanimous decision victory over Imavov (12-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in their light heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Strickland’s victory over Imavov at UFC Fight Night 217.
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Teddy Atlas
Imavov- Strickland, being he’s not in top condition, Strickland can go for broke early or try to control distance & slow the pace. #UFCVegas67 #UFC
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) January 15, 2023
Bloody Elbow
Low kick for Imavov opens the fight. Strickland pressuring and lands a hard 1-2. Jab from Strickland. Imavov lands a big overhand right and a left hook. #UFCVegas67
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) January 15, 2023
Luke Thomas
That right hook from Strickland is money thus far. Imavov not rolling under, but into it.
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) January 15, 2023
Sean Sheehan
Very close round. Maybe lean Strickland due to the way Imavov was reacting to the shots. Very hard to choose. #UFCVegas67
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) January 15, 2023
Brad Tavares
Close round but Sean started finding his range and landing good shots. 10-9 Strickland #UFCVegas67
— Brad Tavares (@BradTavares) January 15, 2023
Belal Muhammad
Imavav needs to be more patient stop getting wild
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) January 15, 2023
Aaron Bronsteter
I have it 19-19 heading into the third after a close round. Better round for Imavov.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 15, 2023
Kelvin Gastelum
As we had predicted in my camp, Imavov fades later in later rounds. And we wanted to use conditioning as a weapon. #UFCVegas67
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) January 15, 2023
Luke Thomas
Round 3 seems like Strickland’s clearest winning round. The other two are close are hard to call. Imavov has bursts of inspiration, but Strickland’s pace and defense won the last round.
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) January 15, 2023
Brad Tavares
30-27 Strickland! Not bad for 3 days notice… championship rounds coming up #UFCVegas67
— Brad Tavares (@BradTavares) January 15, 2023
John Morgan
Lol. Chris Curtis is feeling himself in the corner, talking smack to Ciryl Gane between rounds. #UFCVegas67
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) January 15, 2023
Jed Meshew II
This fight is over. Imavov cannot do the smart thing and his coaches are not screaming at him to get him to extract his head from his ass. Strickland cruising to a decision down the stretch.
— Jed Meshew II (@JedKMeshew) January 15, 2023
Hyon Ko
Strickland is cruising and up big. Imavov needs to chase a finish in the final round. #UFCVegas67
— Hyon Ko (@JHKMMA) January 15, 2023
Bloody Elbow
Imavov’s corner telling him he needs the KO or he’s gonna lose. #UFCVegas67
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) January 15, 2023
Belal Muhammad
If imavov threw a spinning heel kick to the head it would land it’s wide open
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) January 15, 2023
Teddy Atlas
Goes to show how important experience is and when your the one dictating pace you don’t get tired. #UFCVegas67 #UFC
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) January 15, 2023
Shakiel Mahjouri
Sean Strickland pays a nice tribute to Stephan Bonnar, reminds fans to care about fighters once they retire #UFCVegas67
— Shakiel Mahjouri (@Shak_Fu) January 15, 2023